Chandigarh/Jammu: A Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah, who was attacked inside the high-security Kot Balwal jail by a fellow inmate, has been airlifted to PGI Chandigarh where his condition is stated to stable.

He was airlifted after the doctors of Government Medical College hospital in Jammu said that he was critical.

52-year-old Sanuallah, who suffered serious head injuries, is serving a life term after being convicted under TADA provisions following his arrest in 1999. The attack occurred ahead of funeral of Sarabjit, a death row convict in Pakistan, at his native village in Amritsar district in Punjab.

Two prison officials including jail superintendent Rajni Sehgal have been suspended by the Jammu and Kashmir government which ordered an enquiry by Divisional Commissioner (Jammu).

"We are looking into the matter and two persons including jail superintendent have been suspended," Director General of Prison K Rajendra said.

The incident occurred around 8 AM when the jail inmates were out of their cells for their routine work. According to a preliminary probe, Sanaullah along with other prisoners was working in the garden where he entered into an argument with Vinod Kumar, a fellow inmate serving a life term in another case.

Official sources said the argument turned violent and Kumar, an ex-serviceman hailing from Uttrakhand, hit Sanaullah with bricks and shovel on his head. A case has been registered against Kumar.

The police had also readied a Special Investigating Team(SIT) to probe the matter, if required.

An illiterate, Sanaullah, who used to eke out his living operating a horse cart(tonga), was also the mastermind behind the digging of a tunnel in Kot Balwal jail when the prison authorities had separated Pakistani prisoners from other inmates.

After the plan was unearthed, the Pakistani convicts and other inmates were kept together to prevent any further plot to escape.